Tin Canning and Other Subterranean Adventure Ideas

Tin Canning and Other Subterranean Adventures

 A Brief List of Runnable Tunnels in Eastern USA

a Carolina Paddler Article

By Zach Schiada

-Much like dams, tunnels or culverts in a stream can negatively affect its health. Streams require natural movements of sediment through the shifting riverbed to move nutrients downstream and filter the water. It is in the best interest for a paddling club like us to look out for the health of our rivers. However, there are often road infrastructure or industrial needs that cause disruptions or protrusions into the surrounding natural spaces, and we do not have control over such things.

Under the right conditions, such structures can be a lot of fun to explore in one’s boat, sometimes called “tin-canning.” I first became fascinated with the idea of running a tunnel from seeing Bob Brueckner’s Carolina Paddler book report on “Exploring Virginia’s Waterways” by Ed Gertler. There is a mention of Jerry’s Run in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest which flows down a valley between Batlick and Brushy Mountains near Covington, Virginia. About midway through the run, the creek flows through a railroad rock pile before continuing downstream, eventually reaching Dunlap Creek.

I have a tentative plan to run this creek tunnel by the end of this year or early into the next. Since reading about Ed Gertler’s adventures in his books on Virginia and Maryland, I’ve been fascinated to find other tunnels where one can take a boat in search of weird whitewater. From my own research and that of others on American Whitewater, I’ll share a non-comprehensive list of subterranean paddles in the Eastern US. Ed was willing to indulge me in my unusual pursuit of subterranean adventure and supplied many of these locations. There are many others, but for the sake of brevity, I’m going to limit this to ones that I’ve discovered on whitewater rivers and creeks in mostly coastal states in Eastern USA.

First, I’ll start with places I’ve paddled or otherwise encountered in my explorations in Central North Carolina. This is a relatively new pursuit of mine so I am not yet very experienced in such adventures. I plan on building this portfolio in the coming years and will share more as I discover and run them.

Cattail Creek- Granville County, NC: This creek and corrugated tin culvert under Shock Overton Rd are not worthy of a trip alone, but the tunnel does extend a short 80 ft. under the road. Although not a destination recommended for hardcore whitewater boaters, the creek does drop a surprising 29 feet from the put in until the confluence with the Tar River only 1/3 of a mile downstream.

Rocky Creek- Mt Gilead, NC: I recently wrote about Rocky Creek as part of my trip with Paul Yow back in December of last year on the Little River. While we started on the creek further downstream to run the Little River (a trip highly recommended for those who haven’t run it), Paul has paddled more navigable miles of Rocky Creek. The creek  tunnels a short distance under Hwy NC-24. Paul mentions there is a neat class II drop in the tunnel itself and there are more rapids continuing down to the section covered previously in Carolina Paddler.

New Hope Creek- Chapel Hill NC: I wrote about my exploration of the upper part of New Hope Creek several months back. For those with similar minds, you can either venture up from Hwy 86 to the tunnel under I-40 and paddle though one of the four box tubes up and back down or if even more adventurous, explore the short section from New Hope Church Rd to Hwy 86, which has not yet been run to my knowledge. The tunnel itself does not include any rapids, but a small set of rapids begin just below Hwy 86 not far downstream a few miles above the section most are familiar with.

Ed Gertler was also kind enough to share some tunnels that he has found. He is very knowledgeable on rivers throughout the world. When Ed heard that after reading his book, “Exploring Virginia’s Waterways,” I wanted to attempt Jerry’s Run, he was happy to share other tunneling adventure ideas. For those that have not read his books, you should. He has a writing style a bit different than a typical guidebook and while he does write about the well-known rivers, he also includes information on some that perhaps no one would have considered. He has a extensive list of places he has explored, which allows for all sorts of paddling interests to be covered. Below are places for tunnel paddling Ed has personally done or recommends as possibilities. I’ve added additional notes to his recommendations based on what I’ve found in researching these online.

Crabtree Creek (Savage Tributary)– Swanton, MD: Ed mentioned that his friends paddled this in the 1970s and while it does not run very often, it is full of excitement. There are 6 railroad bridge crossings with tunnels, but the last is the most significant with a dark trip 215 ft long before plunging down into a class IV+ hole when you reach sunlight.

This is listed on American Whitewater.

Assumpick Creek-Trenton, NJ: This flows through downtown Trenton, New Jersey, I see two tunnels that go under US1 and then S Broad Street. The former is about 1/5 of a mile in the dark and the latter is about 165 ft length.

Keuka Lake Outlet– Dresden, NY: According to American Whitewater information, this also has features that are used for a whitewater slalom course further upstream. The tunnel called “The Tube” is towards the take out and includes a class III drop into a hole at the end.

Musconetcong River– Bloomsbury, NJ: As part of this run, the river passes through two tunnels of railroad grade rather than a bridge.

In addition to my own exploration and that of Ed’s, I’ve found other in my own research scouring the maps on American Whitewater, something I often do in my free time when I’m bored. I do this is to daydream about future places to visit. What I’ve found is listed below.

Etowah River– Dawsonville, GA: This is probably the most popular river for tunnel paddling. About halfway through the run, the river is diverted through an old mining shaft that runs for about 1/4 mile in the dark. There are some small rapids in the tunnel itself and a ledge at the outflow.

Four Mile Creek-Erie, PA: This creek has an upper section that goes about 1/10 of a mile through a tunnel on I-90 before beginning a gorge section of rapids. The lower part then has a tunnel at Rt 5 that is much shorter. This is listed on AW as well. There is a neat video of a guy running the upper part in a raft.

Twenty Mile Creek– Erie, PA: This is another creek that tunnels under a railroad grade for about 190 ft before dropping off where the concrete ends. The creek actually crosses state lines, so if you want to be able to say you paddled from New York to Pennsylvania, you can cross that goal off your bucket list while you’re there.

McNutt Creek– Athens, GA: This creek tunnels under US29 with 4 tubes to choose from. According to the description on American Whitewater, one of the tunnels has a 30 degree bend in it and is 750 ft long.

Walnut Creek– Erie, PA: Another creek that passes through a tunnel in the Erie, PA area. I need to visit this area, apparently. The creek funnels under a two-tube tunnel below the railroad. According to American Whitewater, this tunnel ends at what they call Marijuanica Falls, which is a short drop from the concrete as the creek flows from the tube.

I’m sure I’ve missed other river tunnels since there are many places with railroad crossings where some type of piping has been placed over a stream instead of building a bridge. In some cases, tunnels flow for significant distances underground, bypassing an entire city under which they run.

This is the case for one of my bucket list paddles at Jones Falls in Baltimore, MD. As Ed Gertler puts it, this flows about a mile and a half before reaching the harbor and air quality is likely a problem. There are others like this, but not suggested to be run. This is the case for another of my bucket list paddles someday if I have the skills to run it,  North Chucnanuda Creek in Amsterdam, New York. The longest video I’ve found online of people running a tunnel is here, where two guys go under the whole town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania on Mauch Chunk Creek.

When running tunnels, one must consider the danger of getting stuck without any means of rescue. If you tackle any of these or others you find in the wild, be smart and scout whenever possible with the option of portaging if things do not look right. On this point, there are a few that I plan on running locally, but I’m not prepared to write about them at present. I’m unsure of their runnability and safety and I have due diligence to do before I feel comfortable sharing information on them. Maybe more on this in the future. If you know of any others worthwhile, please share with me since I’m always on the lookout to explore.

Sources:

-Americanwhitewater.org – River beta and photos.

-Ed Gertler communication via email

-“Exploring Virginia’s Waterways: A Paddler’s Guide to Waters of the Old Dominion State” by Ed Gertler

-“Maryland and Delaware Canoe Trails: A Paddler’s Guide to Rivers of the Old Line and First States” by Ed Gertler

-For further information on Jones’ Falls and a group of people that explored part of this underground stream.

https://starlessrivers.com/jones-falls-conduit/